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We are throwing out over 40 billion single-use cups across the U.S. and Europe each year. Many have tried to address the waste issue; no one’s succeeded on a large scale. Offering to knock 10 cents off the cost of my $5.00 coffee isn’t much of an incentive to lug a bulky, reusable cup around (if I haven’t already lost said cup in a taxi cab).

We considered this when we created Globelet. A subscription service using the Internet of Things and RFID to reinvent the reusable cup.

It works like this: Participating coffee retailers stock the cups, made of plant-based plastic, and give them to a Globelet member buying a coffee. The latter can then “return” the cup to any number of locations around the city. Once returned, the cups are collected, washed, and redistributed to the participating stores. And since each cup is RFID tagged and registered to a user’s account, Globelet can charge a user for unreturned cups.

Globelet will reportedly be available to the public this year in Australia and New Zealand, and will be followed by a worldwide rollout in the future.

For Globelet to work on a large scale, we will need not just the support of the coffee shops who participate, but also a strong enough interest from the general population. I speculate here, but I could see Globelet or its technology eventually getting acquired by a heavyweight coffeeshop chain, one with the kind of reach and brand power Globelet needs to influence consumer behavior.

In Germany, the city of Frieberg has introduced The Freiberg Cup: users put a 1 euro deposit down on a cup and can return it to one of the 100 participating businesses across the city. The system is reportedly cheaper for both consumers and businesses, and early results are “encouraging.” It’s not unfathomable for similar systems to start popping up all over the country as more people ditch the cardboard cup.

Because that’s what the success of the reusable cup really comes down to: changing our behavior. It’s automatic at this point to walk into a coffeeshop, order, and walk out clutching a paper cup. That companies like Globelet offer an environmentally conscious option without the inconvenience of having to keep track of a reusable cup means the concept could have a real shot at success.

About Us:

Globelet vision is to end single use plastic in our lifetime, together.

Our Machines:

In 2016 we invented dishwashing machines that use less water and energy than traditional dishwashing machines, and can wash over 10,000 cups per hour.

We also invented Drying Machines that can dry over 10,000 cups per hour to 100% dryness, ensuring that cups are packed and hygienically packaged. If any water is left on a cup, there is a high chance for mould to grow, which becomes a safety concern.

I NEED A WASHING AND DRYING MACHINE FOR MY BUSINESS?

Please contact us at sales@globelet.com if you would like to purchase any equipment from us.

Festivals around the world are becoming more environmentally conscious, eliminating materials that harm the environment in favour of biodegradable, eco-friendly practices. The latest crackdown? Glitter. In fact, 61 festivals have banned the use of glitter in the UK alone. As Splendour is right around the corner, it's time to consider the environmentally friendly materials you should be using to complete your festival glam.

So, want to achieve an eco-friendly Splendour look? Unsurprisingly, Australia is budding with small enterprises that focus on biodegradable festival glam. Here, we round up five brands of glitter that won't hurt the earth.

Three Mamas, a Victorian health and beauty store focusing on natural deodorant and body care, believe in "promoting the health and well-being of individuals, the community and the environment", according to their website. With 13 colours of glitter to choose from, and the option for fine or chunky glitter in either tubes or glasses, the possibilities are endless for your looks.

All Glitter Girl products are certified home compostable, biodegradable, vegan friendly and cruelty free. Even more impressive, Glitter Girl was created by Sophia Rizzo, a 10-year-old from the Gold Coast. Her newly released festival range will have you covered.

Project Glitter launched in 2016 and have since become responsible for providing Western Australia with lots of environmentally friendly glitter. The team can even provide a catering service involving glitter and body painting! Check out both their fine and chunky glitter for the perfect festival look.

Glitter Haven, a beauty supply store in Queensland, specialise in biodegradable glitter and offers over 25 options for you to pine over. The impressive range—which is easily sorted on their site via colour, particle size and glitter type—will equip you with a large assortment of colours to choose from over the three days.

UK-based brand Cosmetic BioGlitter have made their products available to us—thanks to the wonders of eBay, of course. Instead of being made with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)—the nasty micro plastics that are harmful to the environment—BioGlitter is made of cellulose from eucalyptus trees.

As the weather heats up, so does the competition for events. With a huge lineup of festivals dropping in Australia’s sunny season, how can you ensure that your event makes the cut for attendees this summer?

To stand out in a crowded market, you need to offer an event that is fresh and will drive serious FOMO (fear of missing out). Read on to uncover three ideas for selling out your event this summer.

1. Tap into fresh trends from the Northern Hemisphere

Remember when we had to wait forever for the hottest TV shows and movies to come to Australia? The internet took care of that. Now we can watch the latest episode of Games of Thrones within hours of the premiere in North America.

This appetite for global entertainment trends can also be applied to events. Thanks to social media, Australians get an instant update of what is hot overseas, and increasingly expect that they will see the same standard of entertainment/fashion/food when summer arrives down under.

With the summer festival season wrapping up in the Northern Hemisphere, now is the perfect time to take a look at what was hot (or not) at recent outdoor festivals. Use online search and social media to research events like yours that took place over the US/UK summer and see what had everyone talking.

Focus on what worked for events in your target demographic, but don’t forget to pay attention to current global and local movements such as:

2. Use the ‘silly season’ to your advantage

We’ve all experienced the social pressures of the ‘silly season’ — with the end of the year looming like a deadline to see every friend, colleague, and family member we have. This could be seen as more competition for your event, or you could use it to your advantage. People want to catch up with their friends over summer, so give them an unforgettable place to do it.

An Eventbrite survey revealed that 48% of Aussie millennials believe that some of their best memories come from an event they attended, and agree that attending events with family and friends deepens their personal relationships. If your event is designed and marketed toward making memories this summer, you could attract larger groups and sell more tickets.

To super-charge your ticket sales, sell directly through social media. This captures people in the same place where they engaged with friends and make plans, encouraging them to purchase sooner and invite a group.

3. Lure older Millennials with family-friendly features

Can you imagine keeping a child entertained for six weeks straight? If you have kids, you’ll already know that this is the reality faced by parents across Australia every year when school breaks for summer. Eager to get their kids away from screens, this is a market seeking outdoor events to attend.

Once upon a time, “family-friendly” meant that kids were catered for, with very little on offer to interest their parents. This is shifting now, as the event-loving Generation Y are having families and want to continue enjoying live experiences they love, with the brood in-tow. Eventbrite research found that more than two thirds (68%) of Aussie Millennials are attending more daytime, family-suitable events on the weekend now than they did five years ago, a trend driven by the older 26-34 year old Millennials (73%).

Why lose loyal attendees as their lives begin to shift? Keep them by catering to the millennial parent market.

You don’t need to invite the chaos of a McDonald’s playground into your event to accommodate younger revelers. There are plenty of simple tweaks that event creators can make to existing adult-focused events to capture the parent market. For example, summer music festival Rainbow Serpent have introduced a Kids Space with music and performance activities for little ones and a dedicated Family Camping zone with reduced noise late at night.

If you stack a plastic cup for more than 24 hours it will start to grow mould.

How do you wash and dry more than 10,000 cups per hour?

These are just some of the challenges we faced when we started Globelet in 2012. We went to some of the worlds most advanced dishwashing companies hat supply some of the worlds largest catering companies and even they could not help us.

Since partnering with Globelet to launch #forcupssake – Stone & Wood’s cup exchange initiative, the brewery has saved over 20,000 cups from entering landfill or recycling centres in just 6 months!

“Introducing #forcupssake at various food and craft beer festivals and at our own Stone & Wood events we have demonstrated that there is a successful solution to eliminating single use packaging at events within our communities. The high return rate on cups at festivals and events means our drinkers are getting it and want to be a part of the solution to a circular economy” says Sarah Blomkamp from Stone & Wood Brewery.

In addition to eliminating single use cups at events, the brewery employees’ local not-for-profit Shift Project to wash their cups after each event at their Byron Bay based brewery so they can continue to use the cups at events and encourage a circular economy.

“We hope that we can influence more breweries / festivals around Australia to eliminate single use packaging and implement using re-usable cups”, says Sarah.

At TEDX SYDNEY, Globelet

- Stopped 14,000 single use coffee cups from landfill - Stopped 10,000 single use bottles of water from landfill

You can’t deny that single-use plastics are fast-becoming the enemy to our modern day society. From grand-scale companies down to the local coffee shop, it’s an environmental responsibility that can no longer be avoided.

Businesses are now being urged to step up their game and set the standard for eco-friendliness because if they don’t, consumers will simply turn away.

One such brand that has taken this responsibility further than the rest is TEDxSydney event partner, Globelet.

Founder Ryan Everton came up with the idea after realising the overwhelming amount of cups he had consumed during a rugby game. Four years later, Globelet is now involved in some of Australia and New Zealand’s largest festivals and major sports events where people have no problem participating in the initiative and developing new habits.

The concept works like this – you put a deposit on a cup for $3, fill it up and then either return it for a fresh one, get your deposit back or keep it.

Made from virgin and recycled plastic and distinctly unique cup designs, Globelet reuses over five million reusable cups. Not to mention, twenty million cups have now avoided landfill because of it.

In 2014, eco-conscious arts and music weekend Splore was the first New Zealand festival to use the Globelet. Recently named one of the world’s 36 greenest festivals, the move saw Splore reduce its 55,000 compostable one-use cups to 11,000 reusable Globelet’s as a result. Australian Festivals including Woodford Folk Festival, Sydney Festival, and sporting events including the NRL have also started partnering with Globelet.

It’s this kind of model that is rapidly inspiring other businesses to adopt the same behaviour. As Ryan was told by Steve Jobs right hand man, ‘anyone can sell things. But with the same amount of investment, energy and time you can build something hard and remarkable that changes the world, makes it better and makes an impact’.

From in-house recycling and washing systems, to the packaging of products and sustainability policies – there’s no limitation to eco-friendliness when you decide to be creative about it.

This year’s TEDxSydney will be the first zero-waste conference in Australia and will showcase the Globelet washing system and whole product life cycle in action. We hope to see you there, Globelet cup in hand

Customers pay $1 for a reusable cup that can be returned to any participating business in the city center.

How often have you found yourself needing a coffee on the run, yet without a reusable mug? Does it prevent you from ordering that coffee? Unless you're Bea Johnson, the answer is likely "no." You take the coffee to go, and, if you're like me, feel incredibly guilty for the duration of the drink.

But what if you could get a reusable coffee mug on the spot -- an affordable, convenient option that eliminates a good amount of waste? (And I'm not talking about the $25 themed ones that Starbucks hawks aggressively at Christmastime.)

The city of Freiburg, Germany, has come up with an excellent solution to the problem of rampant coffee cup waste and human forgetfulness. In November 2016, it launched the Freiburg Cup, a hard plastic to-go cup with a disposable lid that's provided to businesses by the city. Customers pay a €1 deposit for the cup, which can be returned to any one of 100 stories in the city center. These stores will disinfect and reuse the cups, up to 400 times. Participating stores have an identifying green sticker in the window.

The food- and dishwasher-safe cups are made in southern Germany from polypropylene and do not contain BPA or plasticizers. According to the new Life Without Plastic book (my go-to reference on plastic safety), polypropylene is fairly heat resistant and considered "relatively safe."

The program has been hugely successful in its first year, especially among students on the university campus. Other cities throughout Germany have expressed interest in replicating the program.

From the FAQ section of the Freiburg Cup website, having a reusable cup option is particularly relevant for Germans, who drink an impressive 300,000 cups of coffee per hour. This adds up to 2.8 billion coffee cups a year, all of which are used for an average of 13 minutes before being tossed out.

Disposable coffee cups cannot be recycled easily, as we've explained before on TreeHugger. The paper is lined with polyethylene to keep it waterproof, but this cannot be separated at standard recycling facilities. The resources required to produce such a great number of cups is staggering, as well.

"43,000 trees, 1.5 billion liters of water, 320 million kWh of electricity, 3,000 tons of crude oil. Disposable cups turn into garbage after a short use, and this results in 40,000 tons of residual waste nationwide. The cups are not recycled, in many places, lying around paper cups adversely affect the city cleanliness."

If coffee companies are unwilling to make changes (as Starbucks has shown itself to be), then cities and municipalities need to come up with better solutions -- especially ones that make eco-friendly decision-making as convenient as possible. The Freiburg Cup is proof that creative green alternatives do exist; its model could easily be exported elsewhere around the world.

Indeed, this is what Environment Commissioner Gerda Stuchlik hopes. The Freiburg Cups often disappear into tourists' suitcases as a cheap souvenir, a 15 percent shrinkage rate that is frustrating, but Stucklik sys, "We take comfort in the fact that the idea of educing waste is being exported to the world with every Freiburg Cup."

By integrating RFID technology we can help retailers reduce single-use plastic packaging through trackable products and an in-built loyalty schemes connected to Globelet.

Launched New Zealand. Globelet is taking reusable cups to a new level in the circular economy. Billions of single use paper cups annually are discarded. Disposable cups are 95% cardboard and 5% polyethylene which requires specialist recycling to separate. Paper cup manufacturing generates around 1.3 million tonnes of Carbon Dioxide emissions annually.

2017 NRL TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP GRAND FINAL TO TEST USING REUSABLE CUPS - BECOMING THE FIRST SPORTS CODE AND STADIUM IN AUSTRALIA TO DITCH SINGLE USE PLASTIC

September 20th, 2017

Sydney, Australia – The NRL has announced that they will trial the sale of reusable cups with Globelet for the 2017 NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final at ANZ Stadium on October 1st, 2017.

NRL branded cups will be introduced at two of the bars as a reusable cup system to help eliminate single use plastic cups. This will be the first NRL and major sporting events in Australasia to make a move towards ending single use plastic at stadiums and sports games in Australia.

Sports games are known for consuming large amounts of disposable cups. The NRL and Globelet expects this partnership to improve the event, reduce its waste and improve cleanliness on site.

Globelet’s hope is for all NRL games and major sporting events in Australia to open up to the idea of eliminating single use plastic, and offering a waste free, and more enjoyable drinking option.

Join the beer festival that has to sample 300+ craft beers and ciders from a selection of NZ's best craft breweries! Plus taste your way around the wares of the best food trucks in town and get down to the sounds of some great live entertainment.

The Great Kiwi Beer Festival is a celebration of the brewing industry in New Zealand, hosted by industry experts.

Attendees will be able to sample brews from diverse locales spanning from Europe to Asia, and the presence of many brewmasters onsite will give patrons the opportunity to interact with the people behind their favourite brands.

With live performance, cooking demonstrations, seminars, brand experience areas, beer and food matching and much more, The Great Kiwi Beer Festival is the ultimate "cheers" to New Zealand's affinity with the great amber nectar.

Lock it in friends: the November with see the Fifth instalment of the Dunedin Craft Beer & Food Festival take over the entire pitch of the Forsyth Barr Stadium.

With tantalising treats that'll appeal to every kind of palate, and entertainment for the young and old - from seminars to bouncy castles to high-quality kiwi music - we reckon it's the highlight of the calendar year!

They are also offering a homebrew competition this year, where you could be the 2017 Dunedin Craft Beer festivals beer of the year :)

Come check out some of New Zealand's best craft breweries in the heart of Queenstown: Garage Project, Tuatara, 8Wired, Panhead, Cargo and many more.

Set in the mighty Queenstown. Who could ask for a better place to have a beer?

Where: Queenstown, New Zealand

When: January

Chow and Tipple

4. Chow and Tipple

The Chow & Tipple is a boutique Food, Beer & Wine Festival based in Cambridge, New Zealand. The inaugural event is set to take place March.

It is one of the latest editions to our Beer Festivals in New Zealand

Where: Cambridge, New Zealand

When: March

Beast of a Feast

5. Beast of a Feast

Beast of a Feast returns in 2018 and this summer's hottest craft beer and food festival in Mount Maunganui! A rockstar lineup of some of New Zealand's best breweries and street food vendors provides the perfect setting for you to acclimatise to a new year! Challenge your mates to a match of table tennis or perhaps meet the brewers behind the beers at ‘The Beer Affair’ tent. Compete for spending credit with competitions throughout the day! Or just sit back and enjoy the entertainment on the big stage!

Beast of a Feast will be held on the 3rd of January at Soper Reserve, Mount Maunganui.

Where: Mt Manganui, New Zealand

When: January

Do you know of any other great Beer Festivals that should be reusable and sustainable with Globelet?

10 Best Music Festivals in Australia and New Zealand

We round up 10 of the best music festivals taking place across Australisa this summer.

They are also the 10 greenest festivals on this side of the ditch.

All of them are reusable and are the most sustainable festivals out there.

From Beer Gardens, Surf Beaches, to watching the action from your very own yacht, or just surfing someone New Zealand coastline – there’s something for everyone when it comes to summer music festivals here in New Zealand.

We put the spotlight on 10 festivals worth adding to your summer calendar Without further ado…

The first festival to see the sun. This year the organiser’s have gone all out to produce an unforgettable experience with a consistent line-up of hard hitting party starters. The festival sold out last year and we almost sold out of reusable cups.

New Zealands best kept secret. Splore is likely to be one of the best music festivals in the world. Set in a spectacular location – you can watch acts on the main stage as you soak up the sun on the beach, or even from the yacht. Yes, you can bring your own boat. Splore also focused on becoming a Zero Waste festival and have their own wedding chapel.

Northern Bass brings together all elements of local and international bass culture even the most clued-up enthusiasts didn’t even know about – grime, drum n bass, boom bap, neurocrunk, glitch-hop, ghetto funk, hip-hop, funk, dubstep and more.

The World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) brings together a melting pot of styles and artists from across the globe and throws them right into the heart of the mighty Taranaki. The festival has a central aim of celebrating the world’s many forms of music, arts and dance and is known for its breathtaking performances and family friendly atmosphere. They celebrate ten years on the block this March.

Woodford is the 6-day summer festival of freedom, music and expression. Set in the deep forest inland from the Sunshine Coast. You will be blown away by one of Australia's oldest and best festivals. The festival is a multi-genre event with an array of different styles of music.

Set in the beautiful Kapiti Coast. Coastella you could say is New Zealand's play on the famous, Coachella :) But on the coast. Only 30 minutes out of Wellington it is one of the newest music festivals to open up in New Zealand! The one-day Festival showcases established and emerging local and international artists with an eclectic range of music covering indie rock, Americana, folk, Irish, pop, New Orleans swing, hip hop, singer songwriters, dreamy pop and electro.

Enjoy four days of Sun, Surf and Soul at the beautiful Kings Beach on the Sunshine Coast!The eleventh annual Caloundra Music Festival will be held over the September/October long weekend. The beautiful Kings Beach and surrounds will come alive to the sounds of a diverse line-up of entertainment featuring the best of the Australian music industry as well as incredible international artists.

This not for profit family-friendly community event celebrates the environment, cultural achievements and community pride of the Caloundra area.

One of the most iconic events in New Zealand. Hokitika Wild Foods is a festival not to be missed. Over 6000 people head to the one prettiest parts of New Zealand to experience a food and Music Festival like no other. Prepare to eat testicals and Sperm while you kick back and listen to good music at night, while sipping one of New Zealands most famous craft beers out of a Globelet.

Ranked one of the most popular music festivals in New Zealand. Nostalgia started as a boutique music festival on the side, to become one of the most successful up and coming festivals in New Zealand. An exclusive showcase of local food, drink, and entertainment - where top quality produce, products, and people come together with live performances from a select line-up of New Zealand’s finest musicians.

The youngest of all our festivals who decided to be green from day one. Oro Festival is the latest addition to New Zealand's Music Festival scene. Oro is part owned by one of New Zealands Maori tribes and is set out amongst their forest one hour out of Auckland.

Where: Auckland, New Zealand

When: April 2018

SUPPORT REUSABLE AND GREEN FESTIVALS

90% OF FESTIVALS IN NEW ZEALAND HAVE DECIDED TO BE GREEN. THEY HAVE STOPPED USING SINGLE USE COMPOSTABLE AND PLASTIC CUPS AND DECIDED TO SUPPORT NEW ZEALAND MADE AND STOP WASTE. HELP US CREATE A REUSABLE SOCIETY THAT MAKES OUR FESTIVALS GREENER.

Yes, the Olympics has yet another cupping craze, though this one involves the swirling orange, blue and green color patterns on a yellow cup that include the name and silhouette for more than two dozen sports.

The most common sight at Olympic venues aren’t medals draped around necks, but fans walking around with arms full, fixated on finding the next beer stand and hoarding empty cups.

Sure, but fans are chugging — and sometimes just dumping — their half liters (about 17 ounces) of Skol lager simply for the empty cups. Then it’s back in line to put another 13 Brazilian reals (about $4) on the growing beer tab. That totals at least 300 reals for the set.

The cups are suddenly fueling the merchandise machine and have been traded, sold, and yes, even stolen, as fans clamor for hard-to-find sports such as gymnastics and soccer this deep into the Olympics.

About an hour before boxing’s Sunday evening session started, fans lined up 25 deep at some “cerveja” stands ready to go another round.

The long lines weren’t necessarily because of slow pours from the can into the cup. Once at the front of the line, fans would shake through stacks of cups until they found the one sport they wanted.

“Boxe! Boxe! Boxe!” one fan shouted in Portuguese in his search for boxing.

“No! No!” the server shouted, as he pointed to one of the other stands at Rio Centro.

So off the man went, without a beer, with a more pressing mission on tap for the night.

Trampoline, tennis, equestrian, taekwondo and water polo were the most common cups found Sunday at the complex that’s home to boxing, table tennis, badminton and weightlifting.

Brazilian native Sergio De Oliveira, now of Hoboken, New Jersey, wore his Team USA hat and shirt and gripped his equestrian (“hipismo”) cup.

De Oliveira and husband Terry Miles are trying to collect the cups of all 14 events they’ve seen at the Olympics.

De Oliveira had no idea that when he bought a gymnastics cup at the opening ceremony, the hunk of plastic would soon spark a memorabilia frenzy.

“It was huge we got it all,” Miles said.

Miles doesn’t drink, leaving all the beer guzzling to De Oliveira.

They have about 10 cups so far, but had yet to find their No. 1 target — archery. They also wanted synchronized diving.

But don’t expect the couple to auction the cups on eBay to recoup the 130 reals and counting they’ve spent on their collectibles. They are keeping most of them and will share a few with friends back in the United States.

Carmen Pruneda, of San Antonio, Texas, had no interest in sipping any light blonde lager.

“I’m looking for cups, but I don’t drink beer,” she said.

Pruneda has traded pins for cups, and cups for pins. She hit a bit of good luck when a woman dropped a cup on an escalator. The woman asked Pruneda if she was a collector. When she said yes, the stranger gave her both of her cups, boosting Pruneda’s total to six.

One beer server said it was forbidden to just buy a cup.

The trinkets are a steal compared to other Olympic merchandise. Olympic hats are going for about 60 reals, T-shirts for 80 to 100 and keychains are 35. One man bought a beach towel at the souvenir stand — a soft landing spot for the three cups he then stuffed inside his shopping bag.

Come to think of it, those purple circles dotting Michael Phelps’ shoulder and back from his cupping therapy do look like coasters.

Maybe he wouldn’t mind serving as a true arm rest for the cups at the next Olympic bash.

While stuffed trash bags and overflowing bins of Skol aluminum beer cans are a sore sight at the games, there’s not a plastic cup around to recycle.

England decided to set the standard and in 2015 Twickenham Stadium went fully reusable with the Rugby World Cup reusable "Fan Cup". Over 140,000 single use cups were being thrown away every event, so with reusable Globelet like cups this has now been reduced to zero.

5. Euro 2016

Euro 2016 Cups France

These are probably some of the best looking reusable cups we have ever seen. Made for the Euro 2016 soccer world cup. This event was impressive with their WASTE MANAGEMENT actions, with a complete report on why they want to stop single use waste. They went on to achieve a 50% recycling rate, zero waste to landfill and greater public awareness by following the 3R Strategy (Reduction, Reuse, Recycle).

Stade de la Beaujoire is leading the way with its partnering stadium Stade de France. Every Rugby Club in France has it's own collection of reusable cups where the rugby clubs have committed to eliminate single use waste.

Where: Beaujoire, France

Run or manage a major venue or event?

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Many said you could never hold a large, multi-day music festival without using disposable water bottles. The festival would lose to much money. Womad Festival and Globelet proved the naysayers wrong. The decision to go disposable cup free was a major success. Over 3000 bottles stopped a normal 15,000 single use bottles from going to landfill Communication was necessary to ensure that festival goers, musicians and staff still had easy access to water and drinking containers. Womad, with the help of Globelet, continues to create the model of a truly sustainable, disposable-free festival. We are proud to work alongside them, now in our 3rd year as a partner

Check out our list of the greenist events where you can party sustainably.

Splore 2016 - Pink

Music festivals around the world are involved in a race to make themselves more sustainable than their rivals. As well as doing the world a solid, a cabinet full of green awards means good press and, hopefully, even better ticket sales. In the world of music festivals, the green initiatives in place are mind-boggling. Splore (pictured above) is the only festival with 'A Greener festival Award' and was the first three day festival to go disposable water bottle free; Womad is arguable the biggest green festival in New Zealand; and the our biggest and most renowned festival - Northern Bass is probably the only Bass Festival that has decided to go single use cup free in the world.

Here are five more sustainable music events in New Zealand.

SPLORE

This Auckland festival is a giant among men when it comes to sustainability. And it's all because of Splore's founders care so much about doing the right thing. It is the leader in New Zealand for sustainable events. It was the first multi day festival to go single use disposable cups free. It was the first festival to go single use water bottle free.

Splore Music Festival, 2010 Kawakawa Bay, NZ. photo by Peter Caughey

WOMAD

WOMAD is always striving to be the best it can be. It is the pioneering spirit of sustainability for festivals and events in New Zealand. If people think sustainable festival, they think Womad. Just count the reasons how: The festival recycles 70 percent of its waste thanks to Beyond The Bin.

Womad Music Festival, photo by Jessica Leong

NORTHERN BASS

NORTHERN BASS is one of the worlds biggest and best Bass Festivals. It is also probably the greenist bass festival in the world. Drink demand is high and sustainability demand is low. However, the owners are pioneers and driving to make the festival as incredible as they can. Its mother company Fuzen Entertainment is owned by some of the most successful event managers in New Zealand. They have seen what waste can do, and went out to make Northern Bass different.

Northern Bass

SILO PARK

SIlo Park has transformed the Auckland Food scene. In 2016/2017 they decided to go disposable cup free with huge success. With an event on every week, they were the first successful food market, that consistently eliminated single use disposable cups.

Silo Park - 2017

ORO FESTIVAL

ORO FESTIVAL is the newest festival on the New Zealand music scene. Set out in Woodhill forest, the electric pioneers Underworld dazzle music-lovers with their Coachella-ready set at this brand-new, boutique music festival amongst the trees.

Compostable Cups

What happens when you buy a coffee in a compostable cup?

If it gets thrown in a recycling or rubbish bin (how many compostable bins have you seen), it goes to landfill, it is now worse for the environment than a recyclable plastic cup.

Recyclable Cups

If it gets thrown in a recycling bin dirty (how many people wash their cup before disposing it) or if it goes rubbish bin, it goes to landfill, it is now worse for the environment than a unrecyclable plastic cup.

Reusable Cups

How many people remember to bring their reusable cup? How many people forget to wash their reusable cup? If you forget it, or if it is dirty, you will likely end up getting a compostable or disposable cup and adding to the problem.

The Solution?

There is a big opportunity. The opportunity is to design a reusable product that becomes part of the system. It becomes a forever cup. It has collection points, it has ease of use, it becomes part of everybody's habits, and it doesn't cost the consumer money, it doesn't trick the coffee companies into compostable, and it saves the world from disposable cups.